Firearms are used in law enforcement and the military. Such use requires accurate shooting by a firearm user. To aid in achieving accuracy, target ranges are usually used by individuals to train or practice. Typical target ranges place a paper target, supported in some conventional fashion, a distance from the firearm user to promote accurate shooting. The firearm is aimed at markings usually on the target, and projectiles, such as bullets, from the firearm simply pass through the paper target.
However, law enforcement officers and military personnel encounter situations that also involve reactive shooting. Reactive shooting requires quick judgment and reaction, as well as accurate shooting. To teach such reactive shooting, some target ranges include reactive targets that, unlike the paper target mentioned above, signify to the firearm user that they have been hit. Such reactive targets may be spun around an axis or knocked down to signify that they were hit. Target ranges equipped with these reactive targets can simulate some situations that firearm users may encounter.
A deficiency of the paper target described above is that the firearm user has to see the bullet holes in the paper to detect if it has been accurately hit. This is impossible if the target is at a distance where the holes cannot be seen. Thus, the firearm user may not know if the target has been hit at all. Consequently, no instant response is provided to the user that is necessary for reactive and accurate shooting training.
The spin or knockdown targets react when struck even in unintended areas. Thus, the firearm user will not know if an intended area was hit. As a result, accurate shooting will not be enhanced.
Target apparatus are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 194,614 to Charles Oakford entitled "TOY TARGETS," U.S. Pat. No. 683,503 to Henry Schloerb entitled "TARGET," U.S. Pat. No. 1,268,115 to George T. Haines and Burton W. Smith entitled "TOY," U.S. Pat. No. 1,378,340 to Clifford J. Fairchild entitled "TARGET," and U.S. Pat. No. 2,039,782 to Howard R. Doty entitled "GAME APPARATUS."
U.S. Pat. Nos. 194,614 and 683,503 disclose target apparatus having boards with openings where bull's-eyes or discs are placed. Attached to the back of the bull's-eyes are rods. The rods are also attached to figures that pop up from behind and over the target board when the bull's-eyes are struck and forced out of the openings. Elastic materials associated with the rods provide the force to pop up the figures.
One disadvantage of the targets disclosed in these patents is that the rod limits the axial movement of the bull's-eye with respect to the opening. This limited axial movement causes the bull's-eye to impede the path of projectiles through the opening. Not only would the projectiles damage the bull's-eye so that repeated use would not be possible, but the mechanisms for popping up the figures would also be damaged. In addition, these mechanisms require numerous extra components to manufacture the target apparatus and depend on proper alignment of these components to function properly. Also, the elastic material loses its elasticity over time.
Furthermore, the figures which pop up have only a small area compared with the entire area of the target board. The figures may be hard to notice by the firearm user from afar after the bull's-eyes are hit. And, the mechanisms for popping up the figures increase the cost of manufacturing and reduce the reliability and reusability of these targets.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,268,115, 1,378,340 and 2,039,782 disclose target apparatus where disks are maintained visibly behind openings in the front of the target apparatus. In the U.S. Pat. No. 1,378,340, the disk is struck and shatters. The other two patents disclose a projectile knocking the disk out from their maintained position.
A disadvantage of these three described patents is that there is no physically exaggerated feedback to signify to the firearm user that the intended area on the target apparatus has been hit. In the U.S. Pat. No. 2,039,782, the opening in the target apparatus is left unobstructed once the disc is shot out. The unobstructed opening may not be seen by the firearm user from a distance since the area of the opening is small compared with the entire target apparatus. Additionally, the shattered disk is not reusable once it has been shot. In the other two patents, another disk replaces the shot disc. Thus, the firearm user may not know if the disc was hit. Eventually, the disks run out and the openings in the target apparatus are also left unobstructed. The unobstructed openings are especially hard to detect when the target apparatus is located a distance from the firearm user because the areas of the openings are also small relative to the entire target apparatus. Further, the structure of the U.S. Pat. No. 1,268,115 may be damaged by a projectile, such as a bullet.
Another disadvantage of the above-discussed patents is that the firearm user cannot reset the target while distant from the target.
Accordingly, there is a need for a target that will provide not only accurate shooting training, but also reactive shooting training. The target should have a simple mechanical design that allows for ease of use, reliability and reusability, yet maintain compatibility for use in existing target ranges and reduce manufacturing costs. It should also provide instant physically exaggerated feedback to firearm users that the target has been hit in the intended area, and such feedback should be visible at distances from firearm users. A further provision of such a target system would be resetability from a distance to the target system. Such a target system will provide increased confidence, realistic combative skill training, focused target selection, judgmental practice and decreased liability through realistic training. As a natural result, an acquired skills response will be achieved. The present invention meets these needs.